ASSESMENT ON UTILISATION OF EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVEAMONG FEMALE STUDENTS OF AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIAMAIN CAMPUS

Abstract

Contraception refers to the prevention of conception through the use of various devices, sexual practices,
chemicals, drugs, or surgical procedures. This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey to assess the
utilisation of emergency contraceptives among female students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria main campus.
A simple random sampling technique was used to select 135 female students for participation. Findings indicated
that the majority of respondents (64.4%) were between the ages of 21 and 24 years, and most respondents (96%)
reported using emergency contraceptives more than twice a year. Among the 135 respondents, almost all (96%)
identified Lydia pills and Postinor 2 as emergency contraceptives, while a small proportion (3%) reported no
knowledge of any emergency contraceptives, and 1% mentioned Depo Provera, Lydia pills, and Postinor 2.
Regarding the timing of use after unprotected sex, 35.6% reported the best time as 12 to 24 hours, 33.3% as 24 to
48 hours, and 17.8% as 72 to 120 hours. Concerning recommendations, the majority (80%) indicated that they
would recommend emergency contraceptives to friends and relatives. Additionally, 56.3% perceived emergency
contraceptives as very effective, while 51.9% considered them safe for users. The aggregate mean utilisation was
3.56, substantially higher than the decision mean of 2.50. A one-sample t-test yielded a t-value of 23.69, exceeding
the critical t-value of 1.656 at the 0.05 significance level, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis and
indicating that the utilisation of emergency contraceptive methods among the students is statistically significant.
The findings highlight the need for health educators to strengthen awareness and education campaigns on
emergency contraceptive use, utilising diverse communication channels such as banners, posters, peer group
education, information, education and communication (IEC) materials, social media platforms, and newspapers,
to enhance knowledge, reduce stigma and promote responsible utilisation among female students. Furthermore,
pharmacies and drug stores should improve customer care services to reduce challenges and stigmatisation for
students.